"Where does it say that you have a contract with G-d to have an easy life?"

the Lubavitcher Rebbe

"Failure is not the enemy of success; it is its prerequisite."

Rabbi Nosson Scherman

7 Mar 2009

Taanit Esther

This coming Monday, March 9, is Taanit Esther. It is customary to recite Psalm 22 on this day (some recite it on Purim as well) because the Psalm refers to Ayelet Hashachar, a term used to denote Queen Esther. The Art Scroll Tehillim states that King David dedicated this Psalm to Queen Esther "because he personally had a hand of the salvation of Israel in her days. When David fled from Absalom, Shimi ben Gera of the tribe of Benjamin went out to viciously curse David." He should have been put to death for blaspheming the king but King David wouldn't allow this to happen because he foresaw that Mordechai and Esther were destined to descend from Shimi. "Being that the salvation of Israel was at stake, David forfeited his own dignity for the sake of saving his people." Hence we see that a person's actions can have repercussions for generations to come.

The Vilna Gaon recited this Psalm as ths shir shel yom on Purim day.It was elucidating to read the psalm along with the Art Scroll explanation which provided me with new insights into Esther's mindset and the meaning of the psalmist's words. It is worthwhile to go through the Art Scroll explanation in its entirety. I will just quote one thought. Pasuk 7 begins with the words, "But I am a worm and not a man. Midrash Shocher tov emphasizes that despite the pitiful weakness of the worm it does have strength in one area. Armed with nothing more than its mouth, the worm destroys the mighty cedars. Thus, the soft and flexible organism can topple the rigid and hard tree. Similarly, Israel smites the nations, armed with nothing more than the prayers in their mouths."May Hashem listen to our prayers and may we celebrate a Purim full of simcha.